Disclosure focus
This disclosure asks an organisation to explain how climate change could affect its finances and wider business position, and what that means in practice. The focus is on identifying the main risks and opportunities, describing their likely effects, and showing how the organisation has assessed them rather than simply stating that climate change is relevant.
In practical terms, the reporting should look across the organisation’s activities, not just a few headline sites or projects. The useful question is whether the assessment covers the parts of the business that could be materially affected, and whether it reflects both downside risks and any potential opportunities, with enough detail for a reader to understand the scale and nature of the impact.
This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official GRI source.
Before you start
A quick mental checklist before you prepare this disclosure — tick each as you settle it.
Preparation
Key datapoints to prepare
＋ Show GRI 201-2 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)
Set out the spend needed to deal with the risk or opportunity.
Explain what effect it has on the business.
State what it is and whether it is physical, regulatory, or another type.
Set out the expected financial effect before any response is applied.
Confirm whether you already have a way to estimate the financial effect or the related costs, or to forecast income.
Describe the approach used to handle it.
If the calculation or forecasting system is not yet in place, give the plan and timetable for building it.
Identify climate-related risks and opportunities that could materially change operations, turnover, or spending.
How to prepare it
1Set the reporting boundary first. Decide which business units, sites, time periods and climate-related matters you will include, so the same scope is used for every figure and narrative in this disclosure.
2Agree the definitions you will use for each item. Make clear what counts as a climate-related risk or opportunity, how you will classify it, and what you will treat as the related impact, before-action financial effect, response method and action cost.
3Gather the source material behind each entry. Pull together finance papers, risk registers, project files, budgets, forecasts and management papers that support the amounts, descriptions and classifications you plan to report.
4Build the disclosure from the evidence. Provide the required amounts where a number is needed, and write concise supporting text for the nature of the issue, the effect on the business, the pre-action financial effect and the way it is being managed.
5Record any gaps, exclusions or changes in approach. If you are not yet able to calculate the financial effect or revenue outlook, note the development plan and timing, and explain any boundary or method changes so the reader can follow the basis of preparation.
6Check the final draft against the source material. Confirm that each required item is covered, the figures tie back to evidence, the wording matches the underlying records, and the completed disclosure aligns with the official reporting source before sign-off.
Request the data
Request climate-risk financial evidence from Finance
Translate the disclosure into an internal business question — then adapt it to your organisation's own language.
What climate-related risks or opportunities could change our costs, income, or operations, and what evidence do we have for the amounts, assumptions, and actions behind them?
Use your team’s own labels first, then map them to the disclosure. For example, if you track this through budget, forecast, scenario, capex, opex, or risk registers, keep those internal terms in the request and only translate them afterwards for reporting.
Weak request
Please provide the climate change disclosure data for GRI 201-2, including all financial implications, risks, opportunities, and management actions.
Why it fails: It uses framework language instead of the organisation’s own finance terms, so the owner has to translate the ask before they can respond. It also does not say which systems, periods, boundaries, assumptions, or evidence files to pull, so the response is likely to be incomplete or inconsistent.
Better request
Please send the latest finance pack, risk register entries, and any scenario or investment files for climate-linked items that could change costs, revenue, capex, or opex in [period] for [boundary]. Include the internal label, amount before and after action if tracked, assumptions, action taken, action cost, and the source file or extract.
Industry examples
Draft your disclosure
Notes that turn data into a disclosure
LRA training templates — adapt them to your organisation, and check the official source before sign-off.
Method note
Describe the basis used to identify climate-related matters, how you distinguish physical, regulatory and other business drivers, and how you estimate the related financial effects and response costs.
Context note
Explain what the figures mean for the business by linking each climate-related matter to the part of the organisation it could affect, the scale of the possible effect, and the actions already taken or planned.
Fluctuation statement
If the numbers move materially, note whether this is due to new issues being identified, changes in the estimated size of the effect, progress in building the assessment process, or different response costs.
Content index entry
GRI 201-2 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change — [location / page] / [notes]
Download Centre
Preparation tools & forms
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Assurance readiness
For each claim, check the evidence
Evidence pack to prepare
Common reporting gaps
Figures are stated without the supporting narrative, or narrative without figures.Scope is inconsistent between the text and the numbers.The reporting boundary is left undefined.Material changes since the previous period are not disclosed.Estimates and measured values are not distinguished.Source records for the figures are not identified.
Common gaps
Mistakes to avoid when collecting the data
Wrong owner
The request goes to the sustainability lead alone, even though the figures and narrative sit with finance, risk, operations, and the team managing climate actions.
Framework language only
People ask for the data using disclosure jargon, so the business teams cannot map it to their own cost centres, project names, or risk registers.
Scope left vague
The team never states which sites, business units, or climate-related matters are in scope, so different contributors send numbers for different populations.
Period basis mixed up
One source uses the current reporting year while another uses a forecast or project timetable, and the pack combines them without saying which timing basis applies.
Counting bases blended
Actual spend, planned spend, and estimated exposure are put into one total, which makes the financial picture impossible to trace back to the source records.
Source labels lost
The original file names, register IDs, or system references are stripped out during consolidation, so no one can trace a figure back to the record it came from.
Separate groups merged
Physical events, policy-driven changes, and other climate-related matters are rolled into one list, even though they need to stay distinct for review and explanation.
Evidence trail missing
The pack reaches sign-off without the supporting notes, version history, and approver names, so reviewers cannot see who checked what and when.
Where judgement is often needed
Setting the reporting perimeter after a buy or sell transaction
Use the same business perimeter you apply for the rest of the report, and explain any mid-year additions or exits so readers can see whether the climate-related amounts sit inside the current group or only part of the year.
Choosing which country rule set to use when local definitions differ
Where local legal or operational definitions do not line up across markets, pick one consistent internal basis for the climate-related figures and describe the basis you used so the same issue is treated the same way across the group.
Deciding whether a borderline issue is close enough to include
If a risk or opportunity sits near your internal cut-off for inclusion, make a clear judgement on whether it could lead to a material shift in operations, income, or spend, and state the threshold or screen you applied.
Separating climate-driven effects from wider business movements
When the same cost or revenue movement has both climate and non-climate drivers, isolate the climate-linked portion where you can and explain the allocation method if you have used an estimate.
Using forecast models versus hard numbers
If the amount is based on a model, scenario, or management estimate rather than observed results, say so and describe the main assumptions, the time horizon, and any known limits on precision.
Picking the timing basis for the amount reported
Be explicit about whether you have used the year-end position, the full-year effect, or another cut-off date, and keep that timing basis consistent for the related narrative and figures.
Handling small amounts that round to zero
Apply one rounding approach across the disclosure, and if a figure rounds away to zero while still being relevant to the story, note the underlying scale or range so the omission is not misleading.
Aggregating sensitive site or customer information
Where a detailed breakdown could expose confidential location, customer, or asset data, group the figures at a higher level and explain the aggregation choice while keeping the climate-related financial effect understandable.
Examples
Illustrative examples
Synthetic, written by LRA — not from a company report, not text from any standard.
Illustrative (synthetic) example — Manufacturing
*Synthetic example for illustration only.* We already have a process that estimates climate-related effects on earnings, cash outflows and sales, and we use it for our annual planning cycle. - The main issues we track are flood disruption at two sites, tighter carbon rules on process heat, and a chance to win lower-emission product contracts; we classify these as physical, regulatory and other business risks/opportunities. - Before any response measures, we estimate a downside of £18m in extra costs and lost margin over three years, and an upside of £9m in added revenue from new contracts. - We manage these through site hardening, energy-efficiency upgrades and customer engagement; the actions taken so far have cost £4.2m, and we plan to extend the model to a fuller scenario set by Q4 2026.
This synthetic disclosure shows a reporter that already has a climate-finance estimation process in place, while also signalling a planned enhancement timetable. It covers the nature of the climate issues, how they are grouped, the expected effect on the business, the unmitigated financial exposure, the response methods, and the spend on those responses.
Illustrative (synthetic) example — Retail and distribution
*Synthetic example for illustration only.* We do not yet run a fully integrated tool for climate-linked financial estimates, but we do have a manual process for selected sites and product lines. - Our current focus is heat stress affecting warehouse labour, storm damage to delivery routes, and demand growth for low-carbon products; we treat these as physical, physical and other business opportunities. - On a pre-action basis, we estimate £6m of extra expenditure and £3m of foregone sales, alongside a possible £5m revenue uplift from greener ranges. - We are addressing these through roof reinforcement, route redesign and supplier switching; the actions have cost £1.8m so far, and we expect a full system with regular forecasting by the end of 2027.
This synthetic disclosure shows a reporter that only has a partial process today, with a clear timetable to build a fuller capability. It still covers the climate issues being watched, their classification, the expected operational and financial effect, the unmitigated exposure, the management approach, and the cost of the actions already taken.
Company reports
How companies report GRI 201-2
Real reports where this topic is disclosed. These are report practice, not exact disclosure templates to copy.
Abertis
Ground Transportation — Highways and Railtracks · Spain · 2024
Abertis’ 2024 Annual Report provides several covered datapoints relevant to the disclosure, including a financial capacity statement related to goodwill impairment testing on page 321 and monetary values linked to renewable energy technologies and climate risk assessments on pages 132 and 134 respectively. The report details systems utilising renewable energy technology in infrastructure maintenance (p.132) and mentions a physical climate risk assessment conducted in the prior year (p.134). However, key narrative items (a-i to a-iii) and certain monetary values (a-v) are not found, and the methodology or narrative for item (a-iv) remains unclear.
Qisda Corporation
Technology Hardware and Equipment · Taiwan · 2024
Qisda Corporation's 2024 ESG Report includes some coverage of financial implications related to climate change, with a specific monetary value reported on page 229. The report also discusses operational costs and competitiveness linked to establishing an ISO 50001 management system on page 28. However, several narrative items and monetary values related to climate risk disclosure are missing or unclear, with no quotable evidence found for key narrative elements and some monetary values.
REN - Redes Energéticas Nacionais, SGPS, S.A.
Water Utilities · Portugal · 2025
REN’s 2025 Integrated Report includes detailed financial information such as revenue measurement at fair value, net of taxes and discounts (p.479), and specific monetary values related to costs and interest expenses (p.446). The report also references climate-related impacts and risks within a double materiality analysis (p.635) and provides an overview of the company’s activities and strategy (p.15). However, there is no clear narrative on methodology or certain narrative items, and some monetary values related to specific disclosures are not found or remain unclear.
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Check your understanding
Scenarios to work through
A preparer has a climate risk register, but the finance team only tracks likely spend on adaptation projects and has not built a way to estimate how weather-related disruption could affect sales or costs across the business. The team is deciding whether this counts as enough for the disclosure.
QShould the response say there is a system in place for turning climate-related effects into financial estimates, or should it say that work is still needed?
Reveal model answer →Hide answer ↑If the organisation cannot yet use a process to turn climate-related effects into cost or revenue estimates, it should not present that capability as already in place. The answer should reflect the current position honestly and, if relevant, explain that development work is underway rather than implying the system already exists.
Why this matters · Describe the actual state of the organisation’s estimating process, not the aspiration or the wider risk register.
A business has approved a project to build a climate scenario model next year. The budget is £120,000, with £40,000 planned for this year and £80,000 for next year, but the project has slipped and no model is yet live.
QHow should the preparer present the plan and timing for building the estimating system?
Reveal model answer →Hide answer ↑The preparer should report the development plan and timeline as they stand now, using the amounts and timing that are actually approved and still current. In this case, the narrative should make clear that the system is not yet operating and that the work is staged across this year and next year, with the total planned spend of £120,000 split consistently between the two periods.
Why this matters · Give the current build plan and timing, and keep the figures aligned with the approved schedule.
A manufacturer has identified two climate-related matters that could change future results: hotter summers may raise cooling costs by £300,000 a year, and a new carbon charge could add £500,000 a year in compliance spend. The finance team is unsure whether to describe both, and how to label them.
QWhich matters should be included, and how should they be described so the reader understands what kind of issue each one is?
Reveal model answer →Hide answer ↑Both matters should be included if each could lead to a material shift in operations, income, or spending. Each item should be described in plain language, with a clear label for the type of issue it is — for example, one may be weather-related and the other policy-related — and the explanation should state the expected effect on the business, such as higher cooling costs or extra compliance spend.
Why this matters · Include climate matters that could materially change the business, and explain both the type of issue and its likely effect.
A retailer has a flood exposure that could interrupt deliveries and cause £250,000 of lost sales if nothing is done. It has already spent £70,000 on raised storage and backup logistics, and expects those measures to cut the loss to £80,000.
QWhat should the preparer explain about the issue, the effect, the pre-action financial exposure, the response taken, and the cost of that response?
Reveal model answer →Hide answer ↑The preparer should set out the issue in a way that shows what the climate-related threat is, what it does to the business, what the financial exposure looked like before any response, how it is being managed, and what the management measures cost. In this example, the narrative would say the flood risk could disrupt deliveries and reduce sales by £250,000 without action, that raised storage and backup logistics are the chosen response, and that those measures cost £70,000.
Why this matters · For each climate matter, explain the issue, its effect, the unmitigated financial exposure, the response, and what that response costs.
Framework references
Related framework references
How this disclosure maps across the major reporting frameworks.
Primary
Related & explore
FAQ
Questions this page answers
For GRI 201-2, what data do I need to gather before I start drafting the disclosure?+−
The page says to prepare a set of specific datapoints, including the financial modelling system, model build plan, climate financial exposure, risk type and description, business impact description, pre-action financial effect, risk response methods and response costs. Use that list as your starting point so you can collect the right inputs before writing the narrative.
How do I use the step-by-step 'how to prepare' section for GRI 201-2 in practice?+−
Use it as a working sequence for moving from scoping and data collection into drafting, rather than as a finished answer in itself. The page is designed to help you prepare the disclosure, build the evidence pack and turn the data into a draft.
What should I include in the evidence pack for GRI 201-2 if I want to be assurance-ready?+−
The page includes an evidence pack with five items to support assurance readiness, alongside six assurance claims to verify. In practice, that means keeping the underlying support for the claim, the risk and the evidence together so a reviewer can trace the disclosure back to source material.
What are the six assurance claims on the GRI 201-2 page and how should I use them?+−
The page says there are six assurance claims to verify, each linked to a claim, risk and evidence check. Use them as a review list to test whether the disclosure is supported and whether the evidence pack is complete before sign-off.
What common mistakes does the GRI 201-2 page warn me to avoid?+−
The page lists common reporting gaps and mistakes, so it is useful as a pre-submission check rather than a source of new data requirements. Review those gaps against your draft to catch missing datapoints, weak evidence or unclear wording before you finalise.
How can I turn the GRI 201-2 data into a draft disclosure quickly?+−
The page includes draft-output support, including visualisation ideas, narrative starters and a GRI content-index line. That makes it easier to move from collected data to a first draft without starting from a blank page.
What is the best way to assign ownership for the GRI 201-2 disclosure across ESG, finance and data owners?+−
The page is set up to help you prepare the disclosure and collect the right data, so ownership should follow the datapoints you need to assemble. In practice, assign each input to the person or team closest to the source system or model so the evidence pack is easier to build.
How do I decide the scope and methodology for the GRI 201-2 disclosure using this page?+−
Use the page’s datapoint list and model build plan to define what is in scope and how the figures or descriptions are being produced. The page is intended to help you set up the disclosure in a practical way, not to replace your own methodology decisions.
What should an assurance reviewer look for in the GRI 201-2 evidence pack?+−
They should be able to trace the disclosure back to the supporting material in the evidence pack and check that the claim, risk and evidence line up. The page’s assurance section is designed to help you spot gaps before external review.
How do I use the synthetic example disclosures on the GRI 201-2 page without copying them blindly?+−
Treat the examples as a drafting aid, not as a template to copy into your report. They are synthetic and internally consistent, so they are there to show the kind of structure and level of detail the page is aiming for.
Can I reuse the same data for GRI 201-2 and ESRS E1 (Climate Change)?+−
The page notes ESRS E1 (Climate Change) as the closest correspondence, so there may be useful overlap in the data you collect. Reuse the data where it fits your reporting needs, but do not assume the two disclosures are identical.
More questions this page can help with
GRI 201-2 economic performance disclosure checklist for ESG managersWhat evidence do I need for GRI 201-2 financial modelling system and model build plan?How to collect climate financial exposure data for GRI 201-2Who should own the GRI 201-2 response costs and pre-action financial effect inputs?GRI 201-2 assurance-ready evidence pack templateCommon mistakes in GRI 201-2 economic performance reportingHow to use the GRI 201-2 Prep & Assurance workbookHow to use the printable Library Card for GRI 201-2GRI 201-2 draft narrative starters and content index lineGRI 201-2 synthetic example disclosure tableGRI 201-2 closest ESRS E1 climate change correspondenceWhere can I find real company report examples for GRI 201-2
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